Love & Prejudice
by RMSTitanic89
Summary: Sora's life is far from perfect, but he is fortunate. But being a stranger in a new place, he will met new friends, make enemies, and even pick up a boyfrined, much to his surprise!
1. Chapter 1

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, hetrosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction.

_**Chapter One:**_

It was 2:30 in the A.M., and Sora Hikari laid in bed, staring at the white ceiling of his new room. Although it was cramped, the room was rather cozy. He turned onto his side, thinking. It would be his first day of school tomorrow at his new high school-Twlight High School. He would be a Sophmore in a new school where he didn't have any friends, nothing familiar, and would get lost several times throughout the day.

Sora sighed, laying on his back again. He knew he really should get some sleep because he would have to get up at 6:00 to get ready, then take 15 minutes to walk to the school before it started at 7:20 A.M.. He really missed his old school now-Destiny Islands School District. His old school was they only one he went to all his life since kindergarden. It was a very small school-he only had had about fifteen classmates at his old school and knew them all well. His childhood friend, a beautiful red-headed girl named Kairi Hikari (no relation), and he would always hang out together with another boy that was blonde-haired and usually wore a yellow vest-all year. His name was Tidus Blitzworth and out of the three, he was always the sportiest. Tidus always tried to get Kairi and Sora into sports and would whine when they would say they didn't want to play sports.

Sora smiled in the darkness of his room when he remembered how Tidus would whine "_Why noooootttttt? Sports are fun! Why don't you like eeemmmmmmmmuh."_ Sora knew exactly why he didn't play sports-he **_hated_** them with a passion. He honestly could care less about them because he was always bad at playing them. He also didn't like them because people made fun of him and would laugh at him and his dismal skills. Therefore, Sora tried not to get involved in sports.

It was 2:50, Sora sighed. He didn't want to go to the horrid new school tomorrow. He knew that the jocky people would try to make him look stupid and he never really had learned how to handle that kind of situation at his old school because no one really acted like that at his old school. He felt he would never find a friend here so he decided he would be like an enigma until he graduated. He sighed again, he really didn't want to move to the city, but his mom, who used to teach at Destiny Islands School District, told him that the education was lacking than in the city schools. So they moved to Twilight Town-a place too large to really be given the title "Town". Sora and his mother had moved into the cheapest apartments that were around that also were at least safer from drugs and crime and other grotesque, negative elements of city life. To his mother, life seemed to be getting better for them. Right when Sora's mother had aquired a very rewarding teaching job for the district, however, she had a horrific seizure.

Sora remembered that night a few weeks ago very well and really wanted to forget it, but life had other plans. He was in the living room watching television. His mother was in the kitchen of their apartment cooking a wonderful dinner of grilled chicken, garlic bread, Caesar Salad, fruit salad, and for dessert-a yellow cake with cholocate icing. She wanted to help Sora become more adjusted and happier with his new life by making him a gourmet dinner to cheer him up. She knew he had suffered from Depression from time to time since he was about six years old and was saddened by this because she felt it was her fault-Depression was common only from her side of the family. Her "Mother's Intuition" always was able to tell when her son was becoming depressed. She remembered that the most depressed Sora ever was was when he tried to commit suicide with a kitchen knife after his father died from a boating accident back at the islands. That same Depression seemed to be sneaking up on him again since they had moved.

She went to get a glass of water when her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor with a loud, blunt clunk. Sora heard it and dashed to the kitchen and screamed at what he saw-his mom was lying on her side, jerking like she was in an electric chair. Her body rocked back and forth harshly, gently banging her head into the nearby refrigerator door, while her fingers and legs twitched and jerked madly. She was making "ugghhh...ughhh" noises when a small amount of blood began to come out of her mouth.

"**_MOM!_**" Sora screamed, tears falling from his eyes at the sight of his only caring relative that he knew closely. He quickly put her in the resting position on her side and away from the refrigerator so she wouldn't continue to bang her head. He went to get a pillow for her when she came to.

After about five minutes of Sora's mother's body flailing due to the seizure, she started snoring roughly, still laying on the kitchen floor. After about twenty minutes had passed, Sora's mom finally awoke with a start. "Sora?" she asked, confused as to why she was on the floor when a great pain hit her mouth. "Ahhhhhhh.." she hissed very low. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I'm fine, hun. Just a little tired and achy." she replied "What happened to me?" "You just fell and starting jerking and twitching and blood came out of your mouth! I thought you...were..sniff going to die or something..." Sora began to cry as his mom hugged him. "Shhhhhhh...it's okay, dear I'm alright now...shhhhhh." she soothed. She helped her son up and finished cooking dinner. Later that night, after she finally got her son to bed, she went to her bathrom and looked in the mirror at her mouth. She nearly yelped at the sight-she had nearly bit the left half of her tongue off during the seizure. She gently touched it with her finger, but a very powerful sting reverberated from her tongue when she did that. She decided to put a pea-sized amount of oral gel, the kind that she uses on Sora's canker sores that he gets from time to time, on her tongue to help numb the pain before going to bed herself that night.

Sora rolled over again and again. It was now 3:06 in the A.M. He was really worried about his mom. All well, he would think of something tomorrow morning...zzzzzzzzzz.

Sora awoke, very groggy, to his three alarms(it took THREE alarms to wake him!) It was 6:00 in the A.M. He **_really_ **didn't want to get out of his warm, comfortable bed. He knew he had to though, so he roled out of bed, grabbed his clothes, socks, and shoes, and locked himself in his bathroom to get ready for the long,long,long,...long day ahead. After about a half-hour, Sora emerged from his bathroom with a faded T-shirt, faded blue-jeans, and white tennis shoes. He was very thankful that this school didn't require a uniform. He grabbed his bag, grabbed a nutrition drink (his mom bought them so he could eat while walking to school), then ran out the door and locked it.

_**A Word from the Author:**_

I know this chapter is short, but it shows why Sora is so down and I will do my best to write more in the next chapter. Also, this is my first story so I really didn't want to make this chapter that long. Please review so that I may get an idea as to what your expecting from a story like this. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, hetrosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction.

_**Chapter Two:**_

Sora locked the door to his apartment and began the long journey to the school. He walked along the sidewalks of his apartment complex, admiring the foliage that the complex manager ordered to be planted over summer. He had been so busy moving then being deep in thought almost all summer that he really didn't notice the beautiful shrubbery before. As he walked by the sparkling pool, he saw many palm trees. He remembered his sadness about not being at his old home, so he began to walk faster until he came to the road. From there, he began to walk south along the highway. There wasn't much-just another apartment complex and a few small shops.

As Sora walked down the street toward his high school, he noticed a figure walking a few yards ahead of him. It was a guy about Sora's height and build and, from what Sora could see, his age. He had brunette hair what was artificially spiked with gel (Sora could tell because the guy's spiky hair wasn't swaying in the strong breeze). The guy wore a plaid button-up shirt on top of a white T-shirt, faded and ripped blue-jeans with a fabric belt with the excess length of it hanging down as well as a chain. He also had a leather armband on his left arm and a silver watch on his left wrist. He had a vivid red backpack on and it seemed like he was holding and looking at something.

Sora quietly caught up with the guy until he was right behind him. He tried to look over the guy's shoulder, but was taken by suprise when the guy's somewhat deep voice said in a quiet, but "unmean" tone "It's rude to look over someone's shoulder."

"Oh! Sorry! I d-didn't mean to l-look!" Sora sputtered quickly, getting ready to be punched. He then noticed he wasn't about to be attacked. The guy just stood there looking at him with a quizzical look. Sora then saw that the guy was slightly tanned, he had a scar about three inches long going from the middle of his nose to the right on his face about two or three inches just above his cheek; it looked as if his face had been slashed by something small in three places on his nose. His most prominent feature though, were his caring, vivid green eyes. "Hey, it's okay. I just don't like it when people do that. Sorry that I'm so paranoid. I'm new here." he replied. "Oh! Your new?" Sora asked. "Yeah.", the guy replied " Why are you walking to school alone? Don't you have any friends?" he asked kindly. "No. I'm new too." Sora responded. There was a pause before the guy asked "Wanna be friends?". "Sure! I'm Sora. Nice to meet you!" he chirped with happiness clear in his voice. "I'm Buck." the guy said quickly, like he didn't like his name.

They continued to walk to school when Buck spoke up. "So... where are you from?" "Oh! I came from the Destiny Islands. You?" "I've never heard of the Destiny Islands, but... I came here from the United States."

"Oh... you came from the U.S...why? Sora asked innocently. Buck didn't seem to be mad at the question, "Well... I wanted to see other parts of the world. My mother objected naturally, but I simply had to get out and adventure and see and do. After all, life's too short to just stay in one place most of your life doing nothing. So I worked as many jobs as I could back home and got enough money saved up to move here on my own and have my own apartment and everything."

"Wow! You have your own apartment! That's soooo coooool!" replied Sora estatically.

"Not really. It's hard for me to make ends meet. With the savings I have leftover, I keep my rent and utilities, like electricity and water, paid, but I still haven't found a job yet." Buck continued.

"What apartments do you live in?" Sora inquired.

"The Twilight Beach Apartments. Why?"

"Awesome! Those are the apartments I live in!" Sora squeaked with excitement.

"That's cool." said Buck in a quiet voice, not really trying to seem down at the situation; he just begins to think about what he was reading before Sora came along. He began to look in his binder that he was carrying.

"Umm...what's that?" Sora asked innocently.

"Oh this? This is my research book." Buck replied and then let Sora look. It had big letters stamped on it that read:

**_BUCK'S RESEARCH:_**

SCIENTIFICAL & HISTORICAL

Below the letters was a black-and-white photograph that shown an enormous and beautiful ship. It had four funnels, it's bottom half looked like it was painted black and the top half painted white. Near the great ship were two small boats(tenders) that were dwarfed even further due to the contrast of the ship's hull. Sora couldn't make out the name of the ship on its front left side.

"What ship is this?" Sora asked. Buck was quiet for a moment before answering: "_Titanic_."

"Huh?"

"The _Titanic_."

"It's very nice looking."

"I know. I'm saddened about it's fate. That's what intrique's me about it and why I research it." Buck explained.

"It's fate? What happened to it?"

"You don't know?" Buck questioned, not in a mean way, just mildly suprised before kindly, yet solemnly answering "That ship sank on it's first voyage out to sea."

"What? This nice ship...sank? Thats... sad." Sora said mournfully. He felt tears begin to form in his eyes. Buck sighs.

"Yes. And the heartbreaking part is..." he swallows before continuing "that most of the people aboard it were killed in the disaster."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow... that's _really _sad. All those people...and the ship too... it looks too beautiful to have sunk!"

"I know. That is one of the saddest parts of the whole tragedy in my opinion. Is that such a beautiful ship could have sank on its first ever voyage. But I think that we really should remember the _Titanic_, in our hearts, as the beautiful ship it was meant to be."

"Is this ship all that you research, or are there other things?" Sora asked.

"Nah, I also study others like the _Olympic _or the _Mauretania_...", he explained "-other famous ships."

"I meant other than ships."

"Oh, yeah I study a lot of things, but mostly historical stuff. I've always tended to be good at history and I believe that good life lessons can be learned from it. I always got academically recognized by government exams every year for History back home in the States."

"Cool. I've never been good at school. I find everything hard and now that I'm in a bigger, more 'educated' school, I'm definitely going to get bad grades and I probably won't graduate." Sora said while looking down with a sad, puppy-dog eyed face. Buck put his arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll do fine. It just takes some adjusting to a new school before you get in the swing of things. Hey! How 'bout this, if ya need help with schoolwork or something, just come over by my place and I'll help you, alright? Sound good?"

"You will? Thanks!" agreed Sora, his face just lit up. "Man, this guy really knows how to be a good friend, and he's really smart too." Sora thought to himself. "Oh, by the way, what apartment number is yours?" Sora asked. "Number four-o-six." "Cool!"

They continued walking when Sora noticed Buck's scar.

"Um, Buck?"

"Yeah?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your face?" Sora winced as he spoke these words, not really wanting to say them because he didn't want to make Buck mad or upset, but he really wanted to know why.

He looked up at Buck, expecting a frown. Unstead he still continued to see a smile while Buck replied to his question.

"Back home...I lived far out in the country. When I was twelve, I asked my mother for a four-wheeler for my upcoming birthday. She reluctantantly did and, on my thirteenth birthday, I lost control of it in some sand and it wouldn't turn, so I crashed into a barbed-wire fence used to keep cattle in, just barely missing my eyes." Buck shuddered at the thought of losing his eyes. Sora now understood and was sorry for Buck's accident and winced at the thought of Buck's beautiful green eyes being shredded apart. "Anyway, I was rushed to the emergency room at the closest hospital. There, they had to call in a plastic surgeon to help close the wound on my face. I had to have regular stitches on the top of my skin and the dissolving ones underneath my skin for a couple days. My mom said she could just start to see my cheek bone because of the deepness of the cut. Ever since then, she's been real protective of me and I think that's why I had a hard time getting her to allow me to move out here."

"I'm sorry." Sora said quietly.

"For what?" Buck said cheerfully.

"For your accident. And for asking about it; I didn't know it bothered you so much."

"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault and also I didn't mind talking about it with you. Actually, you're the first friend, no, first person in general I've talked to about it because it disturbs me so when I remember what happened. I guess I felt comfortable talking to you about it. It helped me express my thoughts about it. I feel...like a weight's been lifted off my chest. Thanks."

"Sure. No problem!" Sora replied happily as they continued to walk towards school.

As they continued walking, they noticed that they were only about five minutes away from the school. Buck then suggested that they double-check their schedules to make sure they knew where they needed to go.

"What class do you have first period?" asked Sora.

"Err...Geometry. You?"

"I have that too! What classroom?"

"Um...Floor one in room 103."

"I have the same thing!"

"Let me check yours."

It turned out that they had every class in the same period in the same classroom.

"Just 'cause we're in the same classroom at the same time doesn't mean we'll talk all period, okay?" Buck said kindly but firmly.

"Sure we won't." replied Sora cheekily, his hair swaying in the breeze and his vivid blue eyes sparkled.

Buck, who was trying to think of a friendly rebuttal, just smiled.

"Do you _always _have that affect on people?" he asked in a fake gruffness.

"What?"

"That way you make people smile at you whenever you do something... well...and I say this in _search _of a better word...cute."

"Huh? Did you just call me cute?"

"Now don't take what I said the wrong way. I have nothing against anyone-gay or straight, white or black, Jewish or Catholic. I don't stereotype anyone because that's wrong- but I'm going to clear this up, I simply don't swing that way, if ya know what I mean." Buck said as kind as he could so he didn't hurt Sora's feelings-he didn't know enough about Sora yet to know what would bother him.

Sora grinned, noticing a chance to tease his new friend. "He really isn't. He didn't even blush when he said that." Sora thought.

"Suuuuuurrre."

"Ooooooohhh I should have listened to my conscience. I knew I'd regret saying that. All well, the past is in the past and I can't change it. Go ahead, have your laugh at me."

"I wouuuuld. Buuuuuuut, we have'ta get to class." Sora replied.

"Alright. Let's get goin'."

"I can't believe I already have a friend and I haven't even gotten to school yet!", Sora thought happily "Maybe I'll graduate with friends after all..."

_**A Word from the Author:**_

I promised this chapter to be longer! This chapter really should be considered chapter one and chapter one should really be the Prologue, but I don't feel like changing it. Also, I introduced my own original character-Buck. Actually, this is ME in this story! I don't know why, but I just felt like throwing myself in there just because I wanted to. How's that for a surprise! If ya don't like it-**tough**. I don't mean to be gruff, but that's how I'm going to write this story. I haven't seen that before in any other fanfic but if there is one, please tell me about it because I'd like to read it! Also, don't forget to review! Thank you!

P.S. Here's a glimpse of the next chapter:

_Buck and Sora get to the school. Just as Buck goes to the office to give a principal some paperwork, Sora is attacked by a group of jocks! Who will save him when Buck is in the office? Maybe that silver-haired dude walking over to see what's going on... _:)


	3. Chapter 3

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, hetrosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction.

_**Chapter Three:**_

Sora and Buck finally walked onto the grounds of Twilight High. It was, for a large public school, beautiful. The brick building had many large, skyscraper-styled windows and many dome-like structures. There were three floors. Although they couldn't see it from their viewpoint, the building had the shape of an octagon, with a wonderful courtyard in the center. The entire building looked nearly brand-new.

"Wow...", Buck exclaimed quietly "They must really mean business when it comes to maintaining this place."

"Yeah..." exclaimed Sora. He had never seen a large school before.

"Let's go in and look around, we still have a while before class starts." Buck suggested.

"Okay!"

The two entered the automatic glass doors of the school. It was just as nice inside as it was outside. It looked almost identical to a nice bank; with it's little cubicles with professional peoples doing professional stuff. There was even a fountain in the center of the room. The object in the center of it that was spouting the water was the school mascot-the Struggler. He was holding a bat-like weapon in his hand and a book in the other. Buck found it to be very amusing-he was suppressing his laughs in sniggers as they passed the fountain.

They walked out another pair of automatic glass doors out to the main concourse of the school. A wide sidewalk went completely around the inside perimeter of the school, with doors to first-floor classrooms on its building sides and the large courtyard out in the center. There were also stairs to the upperfloors. There were many students gathered in small groups everywhere. Buck couldn't stand them. They were too loud, too rambunctious, and especially too **_dumb and arrogant_**.

Buck and Sora decided to look for their first classroom. After about five minutes of being lost, they found their classroom on the first floor and very close to the office with the funny fountain.

"Hey Sora. I gotta give some registration papers to one of the principals in the office. Can ya just stay here next to the door until I come back?" asked Buck.

"Err...", Sora was unsure if he wanted to be away from Buck on the first day at a new school, no matter what length of time.

He felt butterflies in his stomach as he said "Sure. I'll be here."

"Great! Don't worry. I won't take long." Buck replied, clearly seeing the nervousness in Sora's eyes. He ran off quickly to the offices.

Sora just sat there next to the door waiting when he noticed three tall, muscular guys come over to him. One was brown-haired, another black-haired, and a third was dirty-blonde.

"Well,well,well...", chanted the dirty-blonde "What have we here?"

"Someone new it seems."

"Great! We have some new meat to have fun with, ya 'know!"

Sora was scared out of his mind. What if they try to do something to him? He was really freaking inside, but he tried to stay calm and said "H-hi?"

The three guys laughed. Then the dirty-blonde grabbed Sora up by the shirt and stared him in the eye for a few seconds before punching him hard in the stomach Sora yelped in intense pain "That's for being new..." another punch "that's for being in MY school" another punch "and that's 'cause I felt like it."

Sora yelped everytime he felt the guy's fist hit his stomach. He didn't know how long this would last. He felt himself land on the concrete sidewalk. He collapsed onto his throbbing stomach before feeling a foot kick his side "and that's for being a wi-".

Sora didn't hear the last word because he was being helped up by someone.

"Uggggnnnh. Thanks." Sora said weakly, feeling he would lose his breakfast at any moment.

"So, it's you. Got a thing for little brunette wimps now?"

"Go on Seifer." Sora heard a strong voice said.

"Not without my new punching bag, shorty!"

"Your not going to touch him again."

"That's what you think!"

Sora looked up and saw Seifer lunge at the guy who helped him. He heard a loud punch and someone whimpering in pain.

"Your pathetic." the strong voice said.

"Why YOU!"

"That is ENOUGH!"

Everyone looked toward the office. A stern-faced, yellow-blonde haired, blue-eyed young man came outside. He was wearing a dark grey suit that seemed expensive. He was obviously a principal.

"Seifer! Leon! Rajin!" the man thundered.

"S-sir?" they all asked, uncertain if they should have said anything.

"Why are you causing MORE TROUBLE? I thought you would have grown out of your idiocy over the summer so you wouldn't pick fights this year!" the man continued.

"Sir, I-"

"SILENCE! THERE WILL BE NO EXCUSES THIS TIME! ALL OF THREE OF YOU GET DETENTION!" All three grunted, very annoyed.

The man continued to lecture "AND IF I CATCH YOU PICKING MORE FIGHTS OR FOLLOWING THESE TWO AROUND, YOU"RE ALL OUT OF THIS SCHOOL! NO EXCEPTIONS! I'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT! Now... off to class, all three of ya."

"Yes, Principal Strife."

All three passed by Sora and his savior without even looking at them.

"Sorry about them-they're all Seniors so they should be leaving at the end of school this year." said Principal Strife. After asking if Sora was alright, he went on his way. The guy that saved him spoke.

"Are you sure your alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for..um... rescuing me." he replied in a sad, depressed tone. Sora looked up and nearly gasped.

The guy had silver-colored hair that was nearly to his shoulders and it swayed gently in the breeze. He had aqua-colored eyes and wore blue jeans with a navy-blue silk shirt. He wore a necklace that had a black chain with a black crown. He looked so..._beautiful_.

"Wait! Why am I thinking this? He is a guy! What is wrong with me?" Sora's mind continue to race as he just stared into Riku's eyes-they were so beautiful. They had a feeling of caring and longing behind them, from what Sora could tell.

"What?" Riku said gruffly, noticing that Sora was staring at him.

"...OH! Uh...sorry!" Sora said nervously.

After a pause, the guy spoke again "I'm Riku."

"I'm Sora. Nice to meet you!"

"Sora!" Buck came running out of the office.

"Daaaaaang! What happened to you?" said Buck, noticing that Sora didn't look so good.

"Nothing..."

"Nu-uh. Something happened! Tell me! What-whhhhaaaaaat happppppppeeeeeennnnnned..." Buck urged Sora to tell him.

"He was attacked by the bad-boy of the school." Riku answered monotonously.

"What! Oh brother. The world has way too many stupid people in it! I swear! So, are you okay, Sora? Do ya need to go to tha nurse?"

"Nah, I'm okay."

"So I'll see you later?" Sora asked Riku timidly.

"Sure." he said with annoyance in his voice and walked away.

"Well, let's get to class." Buck suggested.

Sora took one last look at Riku's retreating form before running to class.

Wow." said Riku to himself. "That was interesting. That kid just kept staring at me. I hope he couldn't tell... blah, I'm just being paranoid." Riku thought. "Man, though... that kid is different from the rest of 'em. Man, those eyes..." Riku was amazed at the hue of Sora's oceanic blue eyes. He tried to clear his mind as he went to his class.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day went better than Sora thought it would. After Geometry in first period, he and Buck went to World History, Health, and Communications before coming to lunch. They entered the lunch room and were pretty amazed. The room was huge! It had what seemed to be endless rows of large tables that each could seat about ten people comfortably. There were five different food lines, each offered different types of food. Buck brought his lunch so he went to a table close to the door and sat down while Sora bought a lunch (pizza and breadsticks with a soft drink-everything you need to stay healthy!) then joined Buck at the table.

"So... what did you think of classes so far?" Buck asked.

"Whaf?" Sora's voice was muffled by a mouthful of breadstick, apparently too busy eating the amazingly good food to care about classes.

Buck laughed. "Never mind. I'll wait til you finish eatin'."

Buck had already finished his lunch by the time Sora got his and had began eating, so he had his research book out and was reading and taking notes about something.

"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice said. Sora jumped, remembering that voice, and started to choke.

Sora started gagging on the breadstick he was about to swallow.

"Oh no!" Buck said, concerned. He jumped over the table to do the Heimlich on Sora, but Riku, the source of the voice, got there first. He quickly got behind Sora and put his arms around the smaller boy, making a ball with his hands in front of Sora's stomach. He thrust his hands gently into Sora's soft stomach again and again until the very mushy breadstick was blasted onto the table, just missing Buck's research book. Buck, however, was too concerned about Sora to care about moving it.

"Sora! You alright?" Buck asked in a hushed tone while backing up a little bit to give Sora breathing room.

"Y-yeah..." Sora replied in a weak voice as he wiped his mouth with a paper towel.

"You really scared me there." Buck continued.

"Sorry."

"Be careful next time." Riku said roughly. Sora could have sworn that he heard a glint of concern in his voice, though. Sora just smiled a goofy smile, making Riku give in to his emotions and created a smile on his own face.

Buck went ahead and cleaned the table while Riku helped Sora calm down by sitting him in his chair. Then Riku grabbed his tray of food and began to eat. For some odd reason, Sora felt his eyes wander back to Riku many times while they ate, fascinated by the good-looking, silver-haired teen. Everything about him seemed so...wonderful. Sora continued to gaze at Riku, who was too busy enjoying his food to notice Sora watching him. Buck, reading his research book, was noticing Sora's behavior.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." Riku said.

"Oh! Your going?" replied Sora, snapping him out of his trance.

"Err... yeeeeaaah. I have'ta speak to one of my teachers. Bye."

"Alright. Bye!" Sora replied, with a hint of longing in his voice. He then turned and saw Buck looking at him with a smirk.

"Err...what is it?" Sora asked.

The was a pause. "You like him." Buck said quietly.

"What! Do not!" Sora replied flatly. He felt himself start to blush.

"Then why are you so hot and bothered about him leaving?" Buck grinned while saying this.

"There's nothing that's making me hot and bothered about him!"

Buck licked his index finger and touched Sora's shoulder "Isss. You lie."

Sora laughed. "Buck, stop it!"

"Admit it then! You like him!" Buck said, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. He didn't want the school to think Sora was gay because he knew it would only cause trouble. Sora continued to blush.

"No, I don't!"

"You don't have'ta lie, Sora. You don't gotta lie!" Buck taunted while trying to hold back his laughter.

"You're getting annoying."

"Sora's got himself a crush!"

"Shut up!" Sora couldn't help smiling; Buck tended to make him laugh a lot, so he couldn't help but feel happier about being at this new school

Sora felt his cheeks were very warm now.

"Your face says it all, Sora. Your blush so easily!", Buck taunted while taking an apple out of his lunch bag to snack on "you look just like this apple."

Sora blushed even further. He hoped that lunch would end soon so people wouldn't notice.

"I'm just joking with you, dude. If you like him, then I'm happy for you." Buck finished.

Sora wanted to tell Buck about his thoughts of Riku, but decided against it, thinking Buck didn't want to hear.

"What class do we have next period?" Sora asked, trying to change the subject.

"We have Biology. How fun!" said Buck. The bell rang throughout the room.

"Well, let's go!"

_**A Word from the Author:**_

I now have Riku on the scene. I tried to make this chapter as long as chapter two, but I will try to get chapter 4 even longer. I don't know if I put enough detail/emphasis on the attraction between Sora and Riku in this chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else. Anyway, I'll get the fourth chapter up as soon as I can! Remember to review! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, hetrosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story. Also, the song lyrics in this chapter have profane words in them.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction. Also, I do not own the song in this chapter:"**_Where'd You Go_" by Fort Minor**.

_**Chapter Four:**_

The bell rang at 2:30 in the P.M., signaling the end of the first day of school. Buck waited for Sora to finish putting up their textbooks in their English class while most of the other students had already left. Once Sora replaced the books, they left as well.

It was a very hot afternoon. Buck kept talking about how he couldn't wait to get home so he could change his clothes (two shirts and blue-jeans!). However, Sora was too deep in thought to listen-_wonder where Riku lives_? He kept thinking him even when they exited the building through the automatic glass doors. _He was so...cool looking...so handsome..._ Sora caught himself right there, still questioning why he was thinking these thoughts.

As they started walking along the road, they heard a voice-"Hey! Wait up!"

Sora jumped, instantly nervousness crept up on him. _Oh, how do I look? I just don't look cute enough. Wait! Why am I worried about me being cute?_ Sora looked at Buck, who just looked back at him with a smirk on his face while trying to suppress a snigger. Riku ran up to them.

"Yo! What's up?" Buck said casually _without nervousness._ This made Sora rather annoyed that Buck could talk to _cute_ Riku without embarassment.

Riku looked at Sora for a moment before saying "Nothing. Er...I was wondering if I could walk home with you guys."

Sora looked at Buck, hoping that he would tell Riku to buzz off or something, but he knew that that wasn't in Buck's nature.

"Sure!"

Sora's jaw dropped in his mind. Why would Buck do this to him? He really didn't want to walk with Riku for fear that he may find out that he's been thinking about him being..._cute_. He couldn't stop calling Riku that. What's wrong with him? Walking home with Riku was definitely going to be _torture_.

Sora glared at Buck, whose smirk got even bigger even though he was about to burst out laughing at Sora's predicament.

"Sorry!" Buck mouthed.

The three walked down the road in silence. Buck was still reading his research book, Riku looked like he was staring into space and Sora was slighty behind him, staring at his..._sexy _back. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly averted his eyes to the ground and blushed. _Oh, why am I thinking this? Why am I DOING this? _Buck finally broke the silence even thought he was still looking down at his book.

"So, Riku...", he began "Where do you live?"

"In the Twilight Beach Apartments." he said quietly. Sora gawked. _He lives in the same complex? Oh GREAT...will this get any worse? _It did.

"Cool! Sora and I live in that complex too! Maybe we could swing by your place later?" Buck continued. Riku looked up _Sora lives in the same complex? Hmmm...maybe I **should **invite them over..._

"Sure. That'll be cool." Riku replied.

"Sora and I will be there about, let's say, an hour after we get to our apartments?" Sora glared daggers at Buck, who took no notice.

"Yeah. That'll be fine. The apartment number's four-o-seven."

"Awesome! I live in number four-o-six! You're my neighbor!" Buck replied.

"Oh joy." Riku said sarcastically. Buck found it hard to believe that Riku never noticed him move in the adjacent apartment.

"What was that? You need to lighten up, especially if you wanna go out-"

"Buck..." Sora growled loud enough for only Buck to hear.

"Out tonight! We'll all go out to eat! I want some good food tonight." Buck continued. Riku and Sora glared at him, ironically without noticing each other doing it.

"What? What'cha think I was going to say?" Buck smiled cheekily.

They arrived at the apartment complex about fifteen minutes later. They decided to go to Buck's apartment first so he could get changed. They went to building number four and went in. Buck was a decent decorator-sort of. His living room had old, light-blue colored furniture, a small table with four chairs were in the dining area of the room. Buck's kitchen also had old rags, towels, and kitchenware-nothing interesting there. As he went to his bedroom to get changed, he called to Riku and Sora to make themselves at home and if they wanted soda's to get them from the refrigerator. Sora noticed that there was a second bedroom in Buck's apartment and, as the curious boy he is, opened the door.

It was amazing! The walls were painted light-blue and were spackled with paintings, blown-up photos, and other memorabilia of the ship Buck talked about that morning that was on and in his book-The _Titanic_. There was a wooden worktable. On it, surrounded by a large pile of odd-shaped metal, wood, and plastic parts and building plans, was an incomplete large-scale model of the ship itself. It amazed Sora at just how big the model was (it was about twice his height in length).

"I see you've found my _Titanic _room." Sora jumped. Buck was wearing a pair of light-colored khaki shorts with a fabric belt that he let the excess length just hang down. He was also wearing a grey T-shirt.

"Sorry! I just didn't know what was in this room! I didn't mean to be nosy!" he hastily spoke in a nervous voice.

"Hey! Chill out! It's alright! You can look anytime, okay? It's no big deal." Buck soothed.

"Okay. Thanks!" Sora chirped, happy that Buck wasn't mad at him.

"Man, you act like your gonna get jumped or something for everything you do. Don't stress over little things like this or your gonna die of a heart attack." Buck said before leaving the room.

Buck went back into the living room and went to an old desk in the far corner of the room. He opened the top drawer and pulled out what looked like a really thin, silver briefcase. He took it and sat back down on the couch next to Riku, opened it, and pressed a button on it. It was tunred out to be a very nice laptop computer.

After it loaded, Buck went online to check his e-mail.

" I think my friends back where I used to live would have e-mailed me by now about what they're up to." he spoke mostly to himself.

He clicked a large e-mail attachment from a message from one of his friends-some girl named Jammie. As the attachment downloaded to his hardrive, he noticed that it was a video clip that his friends had made for him.

He played the video. Buck became very, very quiet. Sora walked back into the room and was about to ask what they were doing until Riku gave him a look of _don't speak, _so he sat on the other side of Buck They noticed that Buck had a look of sadness and longing in his eyes that they had never seen before. He seemed in a trance as he watched and listened to the video. The video was of his old friends all saying hi and that they missed him. After that, the music started while the video showed a class party that his friends organized that he had missed.

_Where'd you go?  
I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone._

She said "Some days I feel like shit,  
Some days I wanna quit, and just be normal for a bit,"  
I don't understand why you have to always be gone,  
I get along but the trips always feel so long,  
And, I find myself trying to stay by the phone,  
'Cause your voice always helps me to not feel so alone,  
But I feel like an idiot, workin' my day around the call,  
But when I pick up I don't have much to say,  
So, I want you to know it's a little fucked up,  
That I'm stuck here waitin', at times debatin',  
Tellin' you that I've had it with you and your career,  
Me and the rest of the family here singing "Where'd you go?"

I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone.  
Where'd you go?  
I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone,  
Please come back home...

You know the place where you used to live,  
Used to barbecue up burgers and ribs,  
Used to have a little party every Halloween with candy by the pile,  
But now, you only stop by every once and a while,  
Shit, I find myself just fillin' my time,  
With anything to keep the thought of you from my mind,  
I'm doin' fine, I plan to keep it that way,  
You can call me if you find that you have something to say,  
And I'll tell you, I want you to know it's a little fucked up,  
That I'm stuck here waitin', at times debatin',  
Tellin' you that I've had it with you and your career,  
Me and the rest of the family here singing "Where'd you go?"

I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone.  
Where'd you go?  
I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone,  
Please come back home...

I want you to know it's a little fucked up,  
That I'm stuck here waitin', no longer debatin',  
Tired of sittin' and hatin' and makin' these excuses,  
For why you're not around, and feeling so useless,  
It seems one thing has been true all along,  
You don't really know what you've got 'til it's gone,  
I guess I've had it with you and your career,  
When you come back I won't be here and you can sing it...

Where'd you go?  
I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone.  
Where'd you go?  
I miss you so,  
Seems like it's been forever,  
That you've been gone,  
Please come back home...  
Please come back home...  
Please come back home...  
Please come back home...  
Please come back home...

After the video clip ended, Buck continued to stare at the computer screen in his trance-like state.

"Buck?' asked Sora, unsure what was wrong with his friend.

"Hey...you alright?" Riku spoke as well.

"...Huh? What? Oh...yeah...I'm fine." said Buck in an unfamiliar depressed tone.

"You don't sound like it. What's wrong?" Sora said caringly and firmly.

"...It's...nothing." Buck drawled with a distant voice.

"You miss your old friends, don't you?" Riku asked.

Buck sighed. "Yeah...they tried to get me to stay, but I just...couldn't. I asked them to come along, but they were...I dunno...scared I guess, to see the big, wide world...other than the one we had always known all our lives. So I try to stay in touch and to keep up with what's going on with them through e-mail. If I was working, I'd fly them out here in a heartbeat, but I just don't have the money or the job to do that." He sighed again in a very depressed way.

"Come on, Buck. Cheer up! It's not like you to be so down!" Sora confided, starting to feel sad as well.

"Sorry, guys for being so...depressed." Buck said.

"Come on! Let's go get something to eat! That'll cheer ya up! Besides, I'm starving." said Sora with his goofy smile. He didn't notice Riku blush at his innocent smile. _"He's so caring, yet carefree..."_ Riku found himself thinking.

"Okay. Let's go find a place to eat!" Buck said, his happy, caring voice returning from the void it was lost to "Wait at minute. We have'ta go to your place first Sora, then to Riku's."

The group stopped by Sora's so that he could change into something more comfortable as well. As he changed, Buck and Riku meet Sora's very loving mother, who wanted so badly to give them a gourmet meal since they were her little Sora's _first _friends since they moved. She then told them about her seizure over the summer and how she can't work now because of it. That is when Buck revealed something about his mother.

"That's highly odd, ma'am. My mother has suffered the same thing. A seizure over one summer a few years ago. It was also during dinnertime in the kitchen and everything! Thank goodness that my Aunt, who's a nurse, was there visiting when it happened. The next day when she was taken to the hospital, they did some scan of her head and-." The color drained out of Sora's mom's face and Buck decided not to pursue the conversation. Unstead, Sora popped back out of his room, asking if they were ready to go. He was wearing a pair of brown cargo-shorts with a leather belt and hunter-green T-shirt. "_Thank the good Lord he came!"_ Buck thought to himself. He was getting so much into the conversation that he almost told Sora's mom about his own mother having a brain tumor, which was the cause of her seizure and doctors had to remove it. He caught himself because he didn't want to worry Sora or his mom. "_I never let my thoughts wander this much! What's wrong with me? I can't believe I was about to say that!" _He continued to punish himself in his mind when they all headed for Riku's apartment.

"Ya, know? I don't know why we didn't just go to your place first, Riku, since you live right across from me and all.", Buck said after thinking about it "All well, doesn't matter."

They entered Riku's apartment and found that he (or his parents, Buck hypothesized) knew how to make a room look good! It had white walls, leather furniture, exotic wooden endtables at the end of the couch and the loveseat, as well as a coffeetable in the center of the living room. The apartment was an amazing array of browns, blacks, olive greens, and golds. Buck guessed the theme was Italian.

"I'll go grab some money for the food-I'll pay for tonight." Riku insisted.

"It's okay! We have our own money!" Sora said, blushing. He did NOT want Riku to think this was a date.

"No, I insist!" Riku said before speeding into his bedroom. Sora, out of curiosity (who says curiosity kills the cat?), followed him. What he didn't know, was that Riku wanted Sora to follow him.

Sora pushed opened the cracked door that was the room Riku entered. It was SPOTLESS. That olive-green carpet was vacuumed to perfection, books were on their shelves, objects of varying substance were positioned neat and tidy, and there was absoutely no dust. _"Man, I never thought Riku'd be a neat freak."_ Sora thought. The room's theme was just like the rest of the apartment-European/Italian. The bed looked like it was just big enough for two people to be comfortable. "_The sexbed."_ Sora's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly popped out at this very,very,very strange thought that came literally out of nowwhere. "_What.Was.THAT! Oh my... I'm scarred for life!" _ Sora was panicking inside. His stomach became quesy, and he felt like he needed to go to the restroom. "_Where did that come from?_ _Oh man. I'm so screwed."_

"Well, if you'd like."

"Huh?" Sora focused his eyes and saw Riku in front of him, looking at him with a look of smugness and sarcasm. _"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD?"_ Sora blushed and punished himself in his head.

"Yes. you did." replied Riku. _"Man! I did it again! I just, oh...I'm a lost cause." _he sighed. He was blushing fiercely. Riku noticed this (hard not to when it comes to Sora) and smirked. "Wait! What did you say?" Sora asked accusingly, realizing what Riku actually said. Riku looked startled "What?" There was a hint of nervousness in his voice. "You just asked..." before Sora could finish, Buck came into the room. "Well? Are we goin'?" He noticed Sora and suppressed his laughes "Sora!", he said before having to turn his head somewhere else for about ten seconds, looking like his mouth was ready to burst open laughing. He leaned on the door and looked away. He noticed a ceramic figure of a ripe, red tomato on Riku's dresser that was nearby. He picked it up and turned to Sora. "...Sora...snort...you look just like this tomato." he said quietly as he could, but his laughs could be heard in between the words. He then took the tomato sculpture and held it up to his eye-level and closed his left eye as if he were looking through a scope. "You are the same tint...as this tomato, dude. I'm not lying and will NOT lie to you!" Riku could feel laughter starting to come up from his body as well. Buck put the figure back down on the dresser. "Is there something...uh...bothering you, Sora? snort" he asked. Sora felt himself start to laugh also-just because Buck was laughing. It was odd, how laughter could be so contagious.

About fifteen minutes later, the three friends emerged from the apartment. Riku closed and locked the door, and they all started walking to their place-of-meal.

_**A Word from the Author:**_

Hmmm... I don't know. I think this chapter is rather bad. I couldn't get it just right in my opinion. Anyway, please review so I know what I can do to make the next chapter better! I may even go back and revise this one...it just depends! Thank you for taking the time to review! Oh, by the way, I hope you like my choice of song for this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction. Also, I do not own the songs in this chapter:

"**_Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira(Oral Fixation, Vol.2)_**

_**"Never an Absolution" by James Horner(Titanic (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture))**_

_**"Hymn to the Sea" by James Horner(Titanic (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture))**_

_**Chapter Five:**_

After about twelve minutes of walking, Buck, Riku, and Sora found themselves outside _The Big Hen_, an outstanding luxury restaurant, despite the odd name. What was even more peculiar, was that it's prices were not that expensive, so many young people went there to dine as well as many adults. For greater enjoyment, it even had a karaoke bar that anyone could use.

As they entered the waiting area, they were amazed at the decor of the place. It had wonderful exotic wood walls covered with memorabilia of the history of Twilight Town. It also had many large potted plants and shrubs. The dining area was one very large room filled with many oak tables and chairs as well as oak/leather dinning booths. There were also many plants and pieces of memorabilia in the room. However, the most outstanding feature of the restaurant, was an enormous indoor, exotic waterfall at the back of the room. Buck found this especially soothing to the mind.

After about only seven minutes of waiting, Buck, Riku, and Sora were seated at a table near the waterfall and given menus. Buck instantly knew what he wanted-**_anything chicken _**(fried, grilled, dijon, baked, garlic, **_ANYTHING WILL DO!_**). Riku looked at the menu, and decided to look at what Sora was thinking of getting...hmmmmmm.

Sora, not noticing Riku, was looking for something that would fill him up, but wouldn't cost that much. He still had the impression that Riku was trying to make this into a date-and Buck wasn't helping the situation by agreeing to go out tonight. Sora thought that Buck was actually trying to get him to go out with Riku or something. Why is he doing this? He doesn't like Riku in that way! He's just a friend...a...silver-haired...cute...sexy...friend that he wanted to- "_STOP RIGHT THERE!" _Sora was about to strangle himself in his mind. He looked at Buck, who was too deep in thought to notice Sora starting to stare at him, and started hearing more strange thoughts cross his mind. _"He thinks he so smart, trying to get me hooked up with Riku. He nothing but a brown-haired, idiotic...cunning...cute...sexy WHOA!" _Sora slapped himself so hard, that Buck and Riku looked at him with perplexed looks on their faces, yet they seemed ready to laugh at the same time. _"I really am not enjoying this_..." Sora heard him say in his mind before Buck noticed the waiter that was _supposed _to be serving them.

The waiter was a tall, dirty-blonde man that looked a little older than thirty. It looked as if he hadn't shaven in a while, as his blonde beard hairs were just faint on his face. He was wearing formal waitering attire-black pants, a white button-up shirt, a baby-blue tie, and a nametag that said "Cid". He was leaning on the wall close to their table-_talking on a cell phone-**and laughing at something the person on the other end said**_. "I know he's not doing what I think he's doing..." Buck said with clear annoyance in his voice. The waiter, Cid, seemed to have heard him but decided to ignore it. Sora and Riku noticed Buck's anger "rising" in his quickly redding face.

"Uh, dude." Buck said quietly and dangerously-Cid turned his head to look at him.

"What are you doing?" Buck's voice sounding deadly.

"Uh, I'm on my cell, can'tcha see?" Cid replied rudely.

"Oh, ya so stupid. Boy, you are playin' with serious fire. You in danger and don't even know it." Buck chuckled.

Cid just stared at Buck with a slight fear in his face. Buck's eyes narrowed and had acquired a very evil glint to them. Sora and Riku flinched at the sight of his green eyes doing that. Buck spoke in a very quiet, but very icy, voice.

"Kid, you don't know who you are messin' with. I WILL get my food one way or another. If that means you getting fired, then so be it."

"I'm sorry, sir. Er... what can I get you guys?" Cid said unprofessionally due to him trying to hide his fear.

"Good. Now...I'll have the grilled chicken with the alfredo and mashed potatoes, not mashed mashed potatoes, but regular, and a side of corn and a side of onion rings and a glass of water. Thank you. Sora?"

Sora ordered a large grilled chicken salad and Riku ordered the lobster special. Buck's anger was instantly gone now that their orders were getting sent. His plant-green eyes were happy and nice again.

"Thanks again and if you get our orders exactly right AND I don't see you with that cell phone out again, I'll throw in a very nice tip."

Cid quickly got away from the table, for fear of Buck's anger, and went in the backroom.

"Why did you get so worked up about him on a cell phone?" asked Sora innocently.

"Sorry. I usually don't get that angry or upset about...well...really anything. But seeing him just standing there while he was supposed to be working and we while were waiting on our waiter to wait on us...grrrrrrrgh...that just makes my anger flare up, like it did just now. I guess you could blame my mother's genes for that. Her side of the family gets along great with most people, but when we see them doing something, I dunno, STUPID, then we tend to go beserk. We can't stand stupidity, it's like an itch too deep not to scratch."

"Well, that's understandable." Riku spoke up.

"Man, now I'm all hot and bothered because of that guy. I need some music." Buck said. He got up and Sora and Riku watched him proceed to the karaoke bar. Young people were dancing to randomly played music, but no one was singing. Buck thought that was the worst waste of a karaoke bar he had ever seen. He noticed Seifer from school with a group of friends and girls sitting in one of the bar booths, talking. He also noticed a very...beautiful girl dancing on the dance floor. She also noticed him and looked straight into his eyes. She seemed so...out of the ordinary. She was tanned a caramel color and had wonderful, silky dark-brown hair. Her innocent eyes were chocolate brown. She was wearing tight jeans with a T-shirt that said "My Assets" on the chest section of it. _"Man, she's so...beautiful. It looks like she's Spanish-speaking. Cool. She's quite a turn-on...Whoa. Wait just one second. I'm not lookin' for any relationships, especially since I'm too busy trying to get those two knuckleheads together _(indicating Riku and Sora). _Still, that doesn't mean I can't talk to her..." _He proceeded to the karaoke machine when the song playing ended. The girl went up to him.

"Hi! What's you name, handsome?"

"Buck. And yours? he said cooly.

"Buck, huh? I'm Estefania. I'm from Colombia, but I'm traveling around the world. Are you from here? "

"Nah, I'm from the U.S."

"Oooh, cool! You're the first American I've met. Hey! Will you sing with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I'll choose the song! I hope you know how to speak at least a little bit of Spanish!" She didn't realize that he knew a fair amount-at least he knew how to pronounce the words, even if he didn't know what they meant.

She deposited some money in the karaoke machine, selected the song, and grabbed two microphones. By this time, Sora and Riku had noticed what was happening and took seats near Buck and Estefania in the bar. As the music started...Buck noticed that it was a song he knew! Buck and Estefania began to dance smoothly to the music, not looking at the machine's screen for the words, but looked into each other's eyes almost the entire time.

THE MACHINE:

_Ladies up in here tonight  
No fighting, no fighting  
We got the refugees up in here  
No fighting, no fighting  
Shakira, Shakira_

_BUCK:  
I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish  
Como se llama _

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK:_

_bonita_

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK: _

_mi casa _

_THE MACHINE:_

_si, Shakira Shakira_

_BUCK:_

_su casa_

_THE MACHINE:  
Shakira, Shakira  
_

_ESTEFANIA:  
Oh baby when you talk like that  
You make a woman go mad  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body  
And I'm on tonight  
You know my hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel it's right  
All the attraction, the tension  
Don't you see baby, this is perfection  
_

_BUCK:  
Hey Girl, I can see your body moving  
And it's driving me crazy  
And I didn't have the slightest idea  
Until I saw you dancing  
And when you walk up on the dance floor  
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl  
And everything so unexpected - the way you right and left it  
So you can keep on shaking it  
I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish  
Como se llama _

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK:_

_bonita_

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK: _

_mi casa _

_THE MACHINE:_

_si, Shakira Shakira_

_BUCK:_

_su casa_

_THE MACHINE:  
Shakira, Shakira  
_

_ESTEFANIA:  
Oh baby when you talk like that  
You make a woman go mad  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body  
And I'm on tonight  
You know my hips don't lie  
And I am starting to feel you boy  
Come on lets go, real slow  
Don't you see baby asi es perfecto  
Oh I know I am on tonight my hips don't lie  
And I am starting to feel it's right  
All the attraction, the tension  
Don't you see baby, this is perfection  
_

_THE MACHINE:_

_Shakira, Shakira  
_

_ESTEFANIA:  
Oh boy, I can see your body moving  
Half animal, half man  
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing  
But you seem to have a plan  
My will and self restraint  
Have come to fail now, fail now  
See, I am doing what I can, but I can't so you know  
That's a bit too hard to explain  
_

_BUCK:  
Baila en la calle de noche  
Baila en la calle de día  
_

_BUCK AND ESTEFANIA:  
Baila en la calle de noche  
Baila en la calle de día_

BUCK:  
I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish  
Como se llama 

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK:_

_bonita_

_THE MACHINE:_

_si_

_BUCK: _

_mi casa _

_THE MACHINE:_

_si, Shakira Shakira_

_BUCK:_

_su casa_

_THE MACHINE:  
Shakira, Shakira  
_

_ESTEFANIA:  
Oh baby when you talk like that  
You know you got me hypnotized  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body_

_BUCK:  
Senorita, feel the conga, let me see you move like you come from Colombia_

_ESTEFANIA:  
Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it!_

_BUCK:  
Mira en Barranquilla se baila así  
Yeah  
She's so sexy every man's fantasy a refugee like me back with the Fugees from a 3rd world country  
I go back like when 'pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty  
I need a whole club dizzy_

_BUCK AND ESTEFANIA:  
Why the CIA wanna watch us?_

_BUCK:  
Colombians and Haitians  
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction  
No more do we snatch ropes  
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats  
_

_ESTEFANIA:  
I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel you boy  
Come on let's go, real slow  
Baby, like this is perfecto  
Oh, you know I am on tonight and my hips don't lie  
And I am starting to feel it's right  
The attraction, the tension  
Baby, like this is perfection  
_

_THE MACHINE:  
No fighting_

_ESTEFANIA:  
No fighting_

When the song ended, many people, particularly the adults at the bar, were standing and clapping. Buck and Estefania took a bow, put the microphones back on the karaoke machine, and walked quickly outside. Buck mouthed "Be right back!" to Sora and Riku, who were just looking at him with big grins on their faces. They felt both happy for Buck...and jealous. Riku and Sora both didn't like to be in front of people but yearned to be able to swoon a crowd, like Buck just did, for fun. They were jealous because Buck could do this and not be embarassed or shy at all, it seemed.

"Sora, ya think we should try that?" Riku asked jokingly after a stange moment of silence. Everyone else in the bar went back to what they were doing before the duet. Sora was shocked at that question. _"This is getting more and more like a date! Curse you Buck! While you're having a good time, I'm being tormented!" _his mind was racing about what to say as a reply.

"Errrrrmmmm...no." "_Was that it? Real smooth way to get outta this!"_

"Awww...why not?" Riku whined with a pout on his face.

"I...uh...don't feel good."

"Well, wanna go home?"

"NO! I mean... I just don't want to."

_"Is he really that nervous? Why doesn't he wanna sing with me? I really want to get...close to him...These feelings are getting stronger. Now that I think about it, why am I having these feelings? I dont like guys in this way! I just don't!"_ Riku felt his head begin to hurt and started spacing out. After an uncomfortable pause, he and Sora got back to their table.

A few minutes later, Buck returned from the outside with a look of resolve on his face.

"Well? Tell us what happened!" Sora blurted out as Buck sat down.

"Huh?" Buck said startled. He was in deep thought when Sora spoke.

"So, did you kiss her?" Sora asked with great interest in his voice. Riku felt his heart sink for some odd reason. _"Does he like girls? Honestly, when I first saw him I thought..."_ he pushed the thought out of his head when Buck began to speak.

"Well, here's what happened, since your so nosy." he said with a smirk.

_FLASHBACK_

_Buck and Estefania were outside, sitting on the bench next to the doors to the restaurant. It was nighttime now, and the stars were out. It was a beautiful evening._

_"Your a really good singer." Estefania said, not looking at Buck. He noticed her blushing._

_"...um...you're really good too. The difference between you and me is that you made that song sound reeeaaaalll gooood." Buck replied cooly._

_Before he could react, Estefana quickly eliminated the gap between them and sealed her lips on Buck's lips. He didn't object and they stayed in their liplock for a few moments before Estefania broke it and turned away, her face flushed bright red._

_"I'm sorry, Buck. I can't do this. I leave for Australia tomorrow and I can't have any relationships with people I meet on my way. It just... makes it hurt...when I have'ta leave."_

_Buck stayed silent._

_"...Buck?" she asked uncertainly._

_"I understand. I am traveling the same way. I will stay here for a year before moving on so I know how it feels. I'm sorry to say your not the first person I've kissed on my travels."_

_"Well, your not my first either." she said kindly._

_"I guess we have something in common!" Buck said, trying to cheer the mood._

_"Yeah.", Estefania said, her voice sounding happier now that she didn't feel that she was alone in her situation with relationships "I guess we do!"_

_"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Buck said solomnly._

_"I'll miss you. Even though I've only known you for a little while, I feel I can trust you and talk to you. Thank you. You have a good life and good luck in your travels."_

_"Yeah, and the same to you. Oh, and if you start feeling down about not having a relationship, just think of me, okay?"_

_"Alright!" she replied happily._

_"And make sure that during your travels you enjoy yourself and have fun in life. There's no point to traveling if you don't enjoy doing it." Buck said wisely._

_"Okay. Well, I'll see you around! Bye!" they hugged in a tight, warm embrace before she started to walk away._

_"Goodbye!"_

_Estefania walked to a waiting car and jumped in. The car rolled away silently, Estefania stilled watched Buck-and he stared back until the car was out of sight. Sighing, but relieved, he went back inside the restaurant._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"YOU LET HER GO!" Sora said so loud that the people sitting at the nearby tables started to stare at him, causing him to blush from embarassment.

"It's for the best that I don't have a relationship anyway." Buck said cheerfully, although Sora could've swore he saw sadness behind his green eyes.

"But you looked so happy when you two were singing and when you guys went outside. You looked happier than I've ever seen you! And you two looked sooooooo cute!" Sora whined and, for the first time, he saw Buck blushing after he said the word _cute_.

"Sora, stop pestering him." Riku said, a little harsher than he meant.

"ANYWAY, changing subject, uh, why don't you two go up there and sing?" Buck said with a grin appearing on his face and his blush disappeared as fast as it came. This annoyed Sora, who thought Buck looked really _cute and sexy _when he blushed-and not in a friend's point of view.

"Well, I tried to get Mr. Grouch here to sing with me, but he refused." Riku said with a whiny voice, attempting to get Buck to help him get Sora to sing.

"Sora, why are you being as stubborn as a mule? Enjoy your life! Go sing for goodness sake! You saw me do it!" Buck said with excitement. Sora was fed up with this whole evening.

"Are you saying I'm as stubborn as an _ass_?" Sora was shocked that he was feeling so pressured that he said a bad word. He put his left hand over his mouth.

"Sora! I thought you wouldn't say such profanity! Please say you won't say that again."

"Sorry. But I really don't want to sing!" Sora said with a very whiny voice. Riku was blushing because he was finding that voice very _adorable...only from an adorable Sora_.

"Urrrrrgh...all right. You don't have to. But your really missin' out." Buck said in defeat.

A few minutes later, their food came out. They all ate in silence and left about a half hour after they got their food. The walk home was also pretty quiet. Buck was finding the mute-ness a little annoying, Sora was trying to contemplete his behavior tonight, and Riku was trying to think of a way to get him and Sora to know each other better. They hadn't found out anything about each other the entire night. _"How do I get him to open up?" Wait, why do I want to know so much about him? WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?"_ Buck finally broke the silence.

"I think it's gonna rain tonight." He said, looking up. Sora and Riku did the same and noticed very dark storm clouds appearing. Sora flinched harshly just looking at those vicious clouds. He **_hated _**storms. They had scared him ever since he could remember and it seems he just couldn't get over the phobia. He didn't want to go home alone with those clouds threatening to send lightning after him, but he didn't want to look weak in front of his friends either, especially Riku. It would tell Riku that he was submissive or something, but he knew Buck would understand. Sora decided he would ask Buck to walk him home and then ask to stay with him for the night, at least until the storm passes.

They reached the apartment complex when the sky literally began to pour water down from the heavens. Lightning and very loud thunder could be seen and heard everywhere. The thunder made Sora yelp everytime he heard it. They reached the sidewalk that split up into smaller sidewalks, whom wound around the vast apartment complex. Sora's was one way, Buck's and Riku's apartments were another way.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Riku! I'm gonna walk Sora to his apartment! I'm worried about him being out in this storm!" Buck yelled over the loud clatter of the rain hitting everything in the vicinity. Riku looked livid that Buck was going to walk _his adorable Sora _home But after he thought about it, he knew there was nothing between Buck and Sora that would get in the way of his plan..er..._wait, what plan_?. So he just nodded and continued in the direction of his apartment.

"Come on. Let's get ya home. I know you're afraid of storms."

"What? How'd you know?" Sora asked, confused.

"Well, I heard you yelping over the rain. Plus, I saw you flinch everytime we heard thunder so I assumed you are afraid of storms." Buck replied in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. Sora looked down at the wet concrete.

"I'm just weak." he said. Before he knew what was happening, Buck grabbed him by the arm and spun him around so they were staring at each other's faces. Sora could make out Buck's gorgeous emerald eyes behind his wet brunette bangs, now hanging down because his hair gel that kept it spiked up had been washed out by the rain. His scar was more prominent on his tan face. He looked so..._sexy_. Sora felt desire come **_flying _**into his mind. Buck, not noticing his friend's passionate views of him, had a look of extreme annoyance on his face.

"I don't want to hear you put yourself down. I will **_not _**hear a friend of mine saying that about himself. Do you understand me?" Buck said very firmly.

"Y-yes..." Sora said dreamily, feeling as if he would melt in Buck's warmth. Buck let go of him so they were not as close and gave Sora a peculiar look of "what was that?" Sora just looked away because he felt his cheeks become very warm, despite that he was getting rather cold from the rain-he had felt warm and very comfortable when he was close to Buck.

"Oh, and one other thing. You really need to ask Riku out. I can tell ya want him." Buck said with a smirk replacing his annoyance face.

Sora's mind came to a halt. Why was he thinking of Buck, his first friend in Twilight Town, like that when he was interested in Riku? _This is sooooo confusing..."_ Sora said in his mind.

"I can just hear you dreamin' right now 'R-r-r-riiiiik-whoo-oo-oo. '" Buck said before sniggering.

"Shut up!" Sora said jokingly.

"Come on, let's get you home before you catch a cold or something out here. I don't want Riku chasing me with a two-by-four just because _his little So-ra_ got sick."

"You just loooooove torturing me, don't you?"

"It shows how much I care about you as a friend." Buck said cheekily.

Thunder rolled along the black sky, Sora flinched again.

"B-Buck? Is it okay if I stayed at your place tonight? I don't wanna be alone with this storm." Sora asked with a timid, scared voice.

Buck's caring face came back. "Sure, if you are really scared, then I guess you can stay." Sora's face lit up with much gratitude.

They trudged their way to Sora's apartment, soaked to the bone. Sora's mother had went to bed shortly after they left, so they snuck quietly to Sora's room to get some things packed for him to stay at Buck's. Sora ran to his dresser and closet to grab a few outfits, sleeping clothes, and a water-proof dufflebag. He ran to his bathroom to get a toothbrush and deodorant.

While Sora gathered his things, Buck looked around his room and noticed a framed photo on his dresser. It was a brunette young woman, a brunette young man, and the man was gently, yet firmly holding a brunette baby boy. All three had beautiful, vivid blue eyes. The woman looked just like Sora's mother. _"Is this Sora and his father?"_ Buck said to himself, focusing his attention to the man and his baby. All three seemed very happy. They were standing on a tiny island with a tree bent horizontal that was bearing some sort of yellow, star-shaped fruit. They looked like a very content family. He now knew where Sora got his features from. "_Sora was a cute baby... WHOA! Back up! What.Am.I.THINKING! This can't be happening! Not now..."_ Buck pushed the thought out of his mind easily-unlike Sora and Riku, he had better control of his thoughts.

Sora came back into the room. "Okay! I left a note for mom so I'm ready when you are!" he said with a cute, innocent smile on his face. He noticed what Buck was looking at.

"Sora? If you don't mind me asking, is this your father?" Buck asked innocently, not wanting to make Sora feel bad.

There was a pause."Yes. That's my dad." Sora said with a very hollow, very sad, and very distant voice. He seemed to have acquired severe depression in less than five seconds.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Buck said with his own depressed voice. Sora smiled sadly.

"It's okay. I'm not depressed or anything ("_Liar!" Buck thought_). I just miss him, that's all." he confided.

_"He's just going to be so stubborn about everything! Where does he get it from?" _Buck's mind pondered. _"I better not push the subject, even though I really want to know what happened to his father. I've already upset him enough."_

"Come on, let's get to my place. It looks like the rain's letting up." Sora's five-second flat depression instantly disappeared as fast as it came with the creation of a genuinely happy smile. Buck couldn't help but smile back at Sora's _cute _face.

Sora and Buck were soaked even further by the time they got to Buck's apartment.

"Just make yourself at home, okay?" Buck said kindly.

"Sure. Hey, Buck?" Sora started to ask.

"Yes?" Buck replied. Sora tried to find something to say.

"Er...uh...since when do you speak a foreign language?", Sora remembered Buck singing in another language at the restaurant.

"Well...I really don't know how to speak Spanish, but I know how to pronounce a lot of it and read and write it, but I can't conversate in Spanish. I don't have any experience in that." Buck explained.

"Oh, well at least you know some of a foreign language." Sora tried to continue the conversation, but Buck was tired.

"YAAAWWN. I'm sleepy." Buck said, in Sora's opinion, cutely. Sora thinks Buck either doesn't realize just how cute he is, or he does know and is just tormenting Sora.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Buck said, going to his room to get night clothes. Sora felt him blush from his...thoughts about _that_. _"I really need to control these thoughts. Why am I having them anyway? About Buck and Riku when I look at them? I suck at life." _Sora decided to get out of his wet clothes, so he took his dufflebag and went to the _Titanic _room to change. "He really does love this ship." Sora said to himself. As he was trying to pull his shoes off, he bumped into a nearby CD player that was sitting on the worktable with the model on it. The player turned on and started to play a...indescribably _wonderful _tune. The CD player had a little screen that showed the title of the song: "_Hymn to the Sea _". Sora couldn't believe how nice the track sounded. The player then went to another track, "_Never an Absolution_. " "_This is such beautiful music." _Sora thought. It sounded like the combination of a woman's voice with an orchestra. He looked at the partially-completed _Titanic _model while he listened to _"Never an Absolution." _He now knew why Buck was so passionate about the great ship; and saddened by its tragic loss. Sora thought the music was very fitting for the ship-it seemed to explain just how horrible the tragedy was without words and in a way that just reading about it couldn't describe.

Sora had already dressed himself and was studying at the memorabilia of the ship when the CD player finished the melody. Sora turned off the player and went into the living room. Buck was already out of the shower and was getting blankets and pillows for Sora to sleep on the couch. Sora didn't like the fact that he was sleeping on the couch, alone during the great thunderstorm.

"Here ya go." said Buck, throwing Sora the blankets and pillows.

"Er... I know that this will sound wrong, but do you think I can sleep with you tonight? I'm really scared and don't want to be alone." Sora asked in a timid, mousy voice. He didn't want Buck to get the wrong impression...or did he?

"Dude, I'll be in the other room. There's nothing to be afraid of." Buck said with a reassuring voice. Just as he finished the sentence, there was a very loud clash of thunder, and the lights flickered out. Sora jumped and ran into Buck, causing them to both fall to the floor, Sora on top of Buck in a very awkward position. Sora felt the warmth of Buck's body. Buck, on the other hand, was feeling like he was being squished like a pancake under Sora's anvil-like weight. That was odd, considering Sora was a rather skinny boy.

"Sora? Er, can you get off, please? I can't breathe." Buck huffed with the last of his air. Sora really didn't want to get up though. He was too scared of the storm and he was too comfortable being so close to Buck's warm body that he felt comfy and safe. But he complied, and got off Buck. Buck then breathed in a big gulp of fresh air before getting up and speaking.

"Oh, all right, you can sleep with me tonight." he said.

"Thanks." Sora said longingly. If the lights were on, he would have seen Buck's expression of "what?".

Buck gathered Sora's blankets and pillows for him, then grabbed Sora's hand to lead him into the bedroom through the darkness. Buck set up the bed as best he could in the darkness, then showed Sora where to lay: on the left side of the bed. Buck laid down on the right side, said "Good night, Sora.", and before Sora could reply, immediately fell into a deep sleep. What Sora didn't know about Buck was that he was usually sleep deprived. He usually had lots of things to do everyday and not enough time to sleep, so he only got between five and eight hours of sleep every night. Buck knew he wasn't getting enough sleep because he hadn't had a dream in almost two years. He found out that if you have a dream during the night, your getting enough sleep. Buck didn't show much of his exhaustion during the day, but later in the evening he gets very tired. That is why he didn't seem too sleepy in front of Sora and Riku all day. Sora, however, was surprised that Buck went to sleep in a matter of seconds.

_"He must be really exhausted...I wonder why."_ Sora thought. He turned over to try to fall asleep, but his unconsious mind had other ideas. He couldn't stop thinking of _hot, sexy Riku laying in that sexbed, sleeping. How he probably had his shirt off, revealing his muscles and his silver locks in his wonderful, chisled face. His aquarius eyes underneath those beautiful eyelids and those supple, black eyelashes. _Sora was tired enough that he couldn't stop these strange thoughts from crossing his mind. In a vain attempt to clear his mind, he turned over and looked at Buck sleeping. Unfortunately for him, his mind didn't clear, but became even more flustered_. "Just look at him...he looks so...peaceful."_ Sora looked at Buck's features and sighed. "He's too cute for his own good." He slapped his hand to his mouth. Did he just say that out loud? Buck was in too deep of sleep to hear him, and continued to lay there-and Sora just continued to look at him! His eyes made their way to Buck's adorable face to his wonderful brunette hair. It really was dark brown that turned chocolate brown on his bangs and then a faint dirty blonde at the bang tips. It really was a unique look. Sora couldn't help but run his fingers through his hair. "It's so soft..." Sora said to himself. He couldn't believe how nice Buck's hair felt. As he continued to stroke his friend's hair, he prayed that he wouldn't wake him because he didn't want to have to explain to an angry Buck why exactly he was petting him, and also he didn't want to stop touching his friend's soft hair.

The raging storm outside wasn't phasing him in the least now. He felt so safe and comfortable with Buck so closeby, but he wished Riku was beside him as well, holding him in those strong, muscular arms. As he continued his stroking, he felt more and more tired until he finally fell asleep as the wind roared outside._  
_

_**A Word from the Author:**_

I love torturing Sora like this in his mind! He seems attracted to both his friends! I assure you that this is going to end up Sora&Riku, but I decided to have a little fun with the characters. It's great fun too-Riku's so in denial and Sora can't choose who he wants to pursue. Buck, my character-me embodied in the story, really could care less about relationships at this point. However, I hope you liked my fling with the beautiful chick, Estefania. Anyway, this is my longest chapter and I worked hard on it, therefore, I am taking a break from writing this fic because I'm beat! Please review and I'll update...oh...just when I feel like it:) Thanks again!


	6. Chapter 6

_**Love & Prejudice**_

**_Warning:_** For those who don't wish to read material that contains male/male loving (but nothing that is explicit), then please do not read this. My story isn't about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. I am doing my best to try to make the main theme about "Love in general & Life". The relationships between some of the male characters are just there for the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or anything else from Square Enix and Disney. I am simply writing fanfiction. Also, I do not own the songs in this chapter:

**"The Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor(Greatest Hits)**

**"I'm in Luv(Wit a Stripper)" by T-Pain(Rappa Ternt Sanga)**

_**Chapter Six:**_

Buck opened his eyes half-way. He felt very groggy, yet very comfortable in his warm bed. But what he discovered what was near him made him freak out in his conscience for a few seconds before his mind, still waking up, realized what that object was. He looked and noticed a small arm wrapped lazily around his waist. He also felt something soft nuzzled gently against his shoulder-blade. "Yawn. Too tired to care." he said to himself sleepily before drifting into another **_very _**deep slumber.

Sora woke up feeling very warm and comfy. Those feelings were replaced by fear when he noticed that he had his arm draped around Buck's waist! "_Oh no..." _Sora didn't count how many times he destroyed himself in his head when he looked what time it was. It was 6:30 in the A.M. He remembered that it was Saturday, so there was no school (That's odd that a school would start the year on a Friday). He could still hear the rain outside-it was much less loud and less windy. Sora sighed comfortably. He was thankful that Buck was still asleep and couldn't see this (Sora honestly has no clue whatsoever that Buck woke before him!). He stayed in his position near Buck until he finally fell back asleep.

Buck awoke again, more refreshed than he had felt in a very long time, and was fully awake this time. He looked up at his clock, which depicted 7:48 in the A.M. As he was about to get out of bed, he felt the arm draped around him and the head of messy, brunette hair against his back. "_Huh...What the heck?" _Buck had a look of bepuzzlement and slight disgust. He never knew his friend would hit on him while he was asleep! Wait, this was probably just something that happened while Sora was fidgeting in his sleep or something. That's most likely it.

Carefully, he picked up Sora's arm and set it beside his own body, then Buck eased out of the bed while gently setting Sora's head down on the pillow. "I'm gonna have to hit him with an ugly-stick one of dese days." Buck said to himself, noticing how peaceful Sora looked when in slumber. Buck turned and went to his closet to get an outfit out for the day.

Once Buck dressed, he went to the living room and opened the blinds to let in some light. It was very grey outside, and the rain continued to gently pour from the sky. There was no lightning or thunder, it was just a nice shower. Buck decided to get some breakfast ready. Although Buck **_hated _**cooking with a passion, he could cook very well when he had to. He began to get ingredients and utensils out -if he absolutely had to cook, he was going to cook something substantial. In other words, it was going to taste **_goooood_**.

Sora woke up to the aroma of bacon cooking over a stove. It was followed by the yummy smells of pancakes, sausage, scramble eggs, and toast. Sora decided to eat first, so he went into the living room with his sleeping clothes still on. He saw Buck tirelessly working over the white electric stove, trying to finish preparing breakfast. He also noticed another person sitting on the couch, covered in a thick towel, shivering violently. It was a guy about Sora's age, with blonde spiky, short hair and blue eyes with the exact same shade as Sora's eyes. In fact, the guy looked almost like Sora's twin! That a guy could look so much like him disturbed Sora. The guy was staring at the carpet before he noticed Sora and looked at him with frightened, tearing blue eyes. It seemed to Sora that the boy expected Sora to beat him. Sora didn't know what to say yet that wouldn't scare or upset the boy, so he went to Buck to ask who it was.

"I found him outside this morning." Buck explained in a whisper while being loud enough for Sora to hear him over the sizzling bacon and eggs. He began to whisper his explaination so that the guy wouldn't hear.

_FLASHBACK_

_Buck was in the kitchen beginning to prepare a batch of pancake mix when he felt a strange, ominous feeling run down his spine. He knew from experience that he only got these strange feelings whenever there seemed to be someone nearby that was in deep trouble or some other similiar situation. Without grabbing an umbrella, he gathered his keys and went outside, locking the door behind him. He walked in the rain around his small apartment building and noticed something around the side were his balcony was. It seemed to be a small figure huddled and shivering in the rain and sitting in a puddle. It seemed this person was trying to find a spot on the wall that provided the most cover against the cold rain, even though it was hitting the guy as if he was in an open field. Buck noticed that the person was completely soaked and saw that it was a boy. He had his face in his knees and was hugging them tightly, shivering in a way that one would think that he had a bad case of flu. He had very nice, golden-blonde hair that was short and spiked. As Buck walked closer, he could hear sobs and whimpers emitting from the small boy. Buck saw that the guy was about Sora's age and even looked as if he was nearly the same size and figure. He was wearing very woe-be-gone clothing: a black T-shirt, very dirty, ripped blue jeans, worn black and white sneakers, and a torn jacket that was too small for him._

_Buck lowered himself on one knee to the boy's level._

_"Hey. Are you okay?" he asked with his kindest voice. The boy jumped and began to shake wildly. Buck guessed he had startled him._

_"Hey. Why are you out here in the rain, alone?" Buck continued in a kind voice. The boy still had tears falling down his cheeks(although one couldn't notice due to the rain) and was still whimpering when he lifted his head to look at Buck. Buck gasped in his mind. This guy looked almost exactly like Sora! He even had the exact same hue of Sora's eyes in his own!_

_"I-I...just ...sniff...wanted fresh...sniff...air." the boy replied. His voice sounded very similiar, yet very different from Sora's. Buck saw right though the lie._

_"You don't have to lie to me, dude. Hey! Why don't you come with me so we can get you dried off and get you some breakfast?" Buck said warmly. The boy looked very surprised, as if he he never been treated nicely by someone. Although he wouldn't say anything, Buck could tell by this boy's face that he was harshly abused and had never been treated kindly. That is why he seemed startled from being offered food. Buck was proud of his ability to read people. It comes in handy when helping people-like this boy, for example._

_"Th-that's...sniff...okay. I'll...sniff...be fine." the boy replied._

_"No. I'm not going to just leave you out here in the freezing rain. Why don't you tell me what's wrong." Buck soothed, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder to try to help him stop shivering._

_"I don't want to...sniff...bother you. I'll go." the boy murmured, beginning to sob again. Buck wiped what he thought were the tears of the boy's cheek with his finger._

_"Hey, hey... it's okay. Calm down.", he calmed the boy "I want to help you. It's just the kind of person I am."_

_"Well...It happened...sniff...so fast..." but before the boy could finish, he fainted, collapsing into Buck's arms._

_"Oh, boy. Looks like this guy hasn't eaten in a few days. Hope he's not diabetic or something", Buck said to himself "Looks like I'll need to take care of this dude."_

_Buck carried the boy (_finding the boy to be WAY too light for his own good_) upstairs to his apartment. When Buck carried the guy up the stairs, he noticed a red liquid coming from the boy's right arm and his right leg. Buck pulled back the boy's clothes and noticed that the boy's arm had a clean cut (_like the one from a knife_) and his leg was bite by something. He gently placed the boy on his couch, ignoring the fact that this was soaking his couch (_it was old anyway_) with blood and water, and went to his bathroom and grabbed a large, thick towel that looked like it could absorb a lot of water and still keep a person warm. Buck also gathered aneseptic and bandages for the guy's wounds. Buck then began to gently clean the cuts and bandage them, praying to God his thankfullness that the boy wasn't conscious while he did this because he thought that these wounds looked pretty painful. It was amazing that the boy merely whimpered when Buck talked to him. After bandaging the cuts, Buck wrapped the towel around the boy, using care so he wouldn't wake him. He noticed that the boy was sleeping very peacefully, as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a very long time. Figuring that the boy should DEFINITELY eat when he awakens, Buck continued to make breakfast._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"He just woke up like, ten minutes ago." Buck finished.

"I feel sorry for him." Sora whispered sadly back.

"Yeah, well. I'm going to try to find out more about him and what happened to him after we eat. I want to know why he was outside like that. I hope he doesn't have any home problems or something." Buck looked at the boy, who was staring at the floor again, shivering. "It's sad that something could have forced him out into the rain to live like that. I hope he wasn't out there all night." Sora was amazed at how big of a heart Buck had for others in need. Very few people took strangers off the streets into their homes to care for them like that.

"Hey!" Buck said cheerfully to the boy, who jumped "Ya hungry?" The boy didn't speak, but barely nodded and slowly made his way to the table, wincing from the pain vibrating through his body from his bandaged wounds. Buck helped him into a chair at the small dining table, then got a plate full of food for him. At first the boy seemed like he either wasn't hungry or just didn't want to eat, then he began downing the food as fast as he could, unable to keep his manners in check (he was clearly trying though). Buck and Sora didn't mind, knowing that the guy had been through a lot and hadn't eaten in a long while.

When they all finished, Buck took the dirty dishes and dumped them into the sink, then returned to the table.

"So, dude. er, what's your name?" Buck asked kindly, trying to discover more about this enigmatic fella. The boy was quiet before speaking.

"Roxas."

"I'm Buck..." Buck introduced himself then pointed to Sora "and this is Sora. He's just stayin' over for the weekend in case your thinkin' anything." Roxas stayed silent, looking down at his lap with a look of terror and sadness on his face. It made Sora's heart ache to see someone like Roxas in such pain; a pain with a mysterious source that Buck was determined to figure out.

"So, Roxas. How are you feeling now? It seems you had quite a few cuts on ya. Could you tell us what happened to you?" Buck said kindly. Roxas continued to look down at his lap while he spoke in a very sad, quiet voice.

"I...I ran away." he said.

"From home? Why?" Buck continued softly. Roxas whimpered.

"I was tired...sniff...of it there. My mum and pop would always...get drunk and..." he turned away from Sora and Buck, trying in vain to hold back tears. His emotions were flying out of him-both in the form of tears and words. The enormous pressure of these emotions had finally began to push themselves out of Roxas's heart, causing him to sob uncontrollably. Buck came around to him and began to gently pat his back.

"Calm down, Roxas. It's okay, dude. Shhh... it'll be alri-" Buck was shocked when Roxas turned swiftly around and hugged Buck by the waist for dear life.

"D-don't send me back...sniff... I can't go back th-there." Roxas cried horribly into Buck's shirt. Buck, as kind as he is, was lost for words to comfort Roxas. He gave Sora a look of pleading-for-help before saying: "Roxas. We're not gonna send you back. Er, you can stay here, if you want."

Roxas looked up at Buck with fearful, yet grateful eyes before fainting again. Buck guessed this guy had been homeless for quite a while. Sora helped Buck put Roxas back on the couch. Then, Buck went to his bedroom to get his laptop.

"I need to check something online."

"Okay. Hey! What do you want to do today?" Sora asked.

"Hmmm. I'll think of something later." Buck replied.

Sora watched Buck's T.V. (some education channel had a documentary on the air about the _Titanic_!) while Buck checked something online. Actually, he was checking the local newpapers, the web, and the local police department's website for any information on _Roxas_.

After about twenty-five minutes, Buck, with his masterful researching skills, had found a "treasure trove" of information about the boy. Apparently, he lived with his mother and father, who were very severe alcoholics. They were both graduates from college, but had aqcuired very high-stress jobs. Not too long afterward, they began to drink heavily, and their young son, Roxas-about eight at the time, was forced to bear their physical and emotional abuse when they allowed alcohol to come into their lives. From what Buck found, Roxas was now the same age as Sora-about sixteen. The boy had endured eight long years of abuse. The parents had been confronted by neighbors and police about the alcohol and the well-being of Roxas, but the parents had always been able to put on an elaborate ruse in order to keep their son. Now the parents were looking for their son with the help of police. "_He's not going back there_." Buck said in his mind. He would find enough evidence to keep the parents away from poor Roxas. "_He doesn't deserve this. Nope, I'm not about to have this. I will get their custody over him taken away._" Buck decided not to tell Sora about any of this-he believed Sora didn't need to be involved.

After Buck finished, he put on some music on his computer while he began to clean the apartment. It was a nice, strangely "invigorating" song. What Buck and Sora didn't know is that Roxas, half-asleep, could hear everything.

_Risin' up, back on the street  
Did my time, took my chances  
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet  
Just a man and his will to survive_

So many times, it happens too fast  
You trade your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past   
You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat  
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry  
They stack the odds, till we take to the street  
For the kill with the skill to survive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night   
And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tiger

Risin' up, straight to the top  
Had the guts, got the glory  
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop  
Just a man and his will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger  
The eye of the tiger  
The eye of the tiger

"Buck!" Sora said as loud as he could without waking Roxas. Buck looked at him with an expression of "what?".

"He's sleeping!"

"So! He isn't goin' anywhere."

"The music will wake him!"

"Nah. It wasn't loud enough to wake him. That T.V. you're watching is louder than the music was." Another rock song came on that was very loud. Buck immediately turned off the music and then looked at Sora before saying: "Okay. Now THAT...was loud." Roxas groaned as he awoke slowly. Buck and Sora went to him to see if he needed anything, but before he could say anthing, he fell asleep again.

"Man, this kid must've got like absolutely no sleep in the past couple of days! He's really out of it. I don't know how someone could go on like that."

"Let's just leave him here to rest and go see Riku." said Sora, trying to hide his yearning to see the silver-haired...um..._boy _(Sora's mind isn't a pleasant place to be right now!). Buck could instantly tell what Sora was thinking about.

"Sora! You perv!" Buck said laughing. Sora pouted.

"Am not!"

"Are so!", Buck sniggered "Oh, I'm in love with a stripper..da do doo...da do doo...da do doo"

"Buck, you're so mean!" Sora whined cutely. Buck put his left index finger up to stop Sora's speech, then walked back to his computer and turned on a song that just made Sora glare daggers at Buck. Buck just had to go this far to tease Sora. Buck only played part of the song:

_Cause I'm N Luv wit a stripper  
She poppin she rollin she rollin  
She climbin that pole and  
I'm N Luv with a stripper  
She trippin she playin she playin  
I'm not goin nowhere girl I'm stayin  
I'm N Luv with a stipper_

After the section of song ended, Buck turned it off and looked into the eyes of an annoyed Sora.

"Perv..." Buck whispered loud enough for Sora to hear.

"I AM NOT!" Sora was getting fed up with Buck's antics.

"Just say it! You like him!"

"Why are you being so mean..." Sora said, tears starting to form in his eyes. Buck didn't realize just how far he pushed Sora and now felt bad. He didn't know how far Sora could be teased before he began to take someone's jokes seriously.

"Sorry Sora. I didn't mean to upset ya. You know I'm just playing with you, right?" Buck soothed. Sora took the opportunity to whack Buck upside the head.

"Ha! That's for teasing me!" Sora said, happiness returned to his voice, but tears were still trickling down his face.  
"I'm gonna get you back for that one!" Buck said jokingly.

"You need to get ready, unless you WANT Riku to see you in your pa-ja-mas!" Buck sniggered after making a cat purr sound. Sora just blushed at Buck purring. He **did **need to get dressed before he saw Riku. "Sora?"

Sora jumped and saw Buck looking at him with a quizzical look.

"Sora, uh...you're blushing. You still lookin' like that tomater." Buck said, stifling his giggles.

"Uh..er, I..I'm gonna get dressed." Sora said quickly and ran to the _Titanic _room where his clothes were.

"Er, ya might wanna take a shower! You didn't take one last night, dude!" Buck called after him. Sora thought he'd feel better if he was in the shower with one..of his friends...at least one if not two.

Driving his very dirty thoughts out of his mind (_oh, but of course he doesn't know where these thoughts come fromsarcasm_!), Sora took his clothes to the bathroom and began to shower and get ready for the day.

_**A Word from the Author:**_

I'M BAAAAAAAACCCCK! LOL! Here's tha new chapter for those who have actually enjoyed this fic. I put as much as I could think of for this chapter; put a few more of my song faves in and I hope you enjoy 'em. Anywho, I'll update as soon as I can. Reviews please. Thanks.


End file.
